Dominique Moceanu (person)

Born September 30, 1981 in Hollywood, gymnast Dominique Moceanu began lessons at the age of three and a half. Perhaps as a result of having inherited some talent from her parents, both of whom had been gymnasts in Romania, she advanced quickly and moved to Houston in 1991 to train with renowned coach Bela Karolyi. Seven months later, she qualified for the U.S. Junior National Team, and swept all five medals in the 1992 Pan America Games in São Paulo. Moceanu advanced to the senior division in 1995, taking first place in a number of competitions. Prior to competing in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta at the age of 14, she suffered a fractured tibia and she was unable to perform well enough to earn any individual medals but did join The Magnificent Seven in the team gold medal. After the Games, Moceanu released an autobiography entitled An American Champion, then grew seven inches and gained 18 pounds, temporarily disappearing from the public eye while continuing training. She won the all-around title at the 1998Goodwill Games in New York, and in January of 2000 moved to Cincinnati to train under Mary Lee Tracy. Moceanu intended to compete in Sydney's Olympic Games, but was forced to withdraw from the Olympic Trials following a knee injury and instead served as a commentator for NBC's coverage of the event. Recently she has returned to Houston, done some modeling and acting, and is spending some of her time coaching at local gyms and summer camps across the country. Moceanu also contributes to her official website - http://www.dominique-moceanu.com - and has joined a company called Morinda in promoting their Tahitiannoni Juice.